


Pretenders

by Sniss



Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game), Tealight Tavern
Genre: Blood, Death, Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, Kobolds, mind flayer - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-15
Updated: 2019-09-15
Packaged: 2020-10-19 10:09:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20655479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sniss/pseuds/Sniss
Summary: One work from the Five Kobolds Ta(i)leBorintas, the 11th level kobold Blood Hunter and Adj'Alapy, the 11th level illithid Wizard took a quest with a rather larger group of people (two paladins, a cleric, a warlock, a sorcerer and a fighter) to liberate a town from "something taking our bodies".This piece of " art" handles the post battle moments, the stage, where the adrenalin does not fuel you anymore.





	Pretenders

**Author's Note:**

> {} means mindspeak or telepathy; Adj and Borintas like to use this way of communication, to boost their teamwork. Only the mind flayer can innitiate a 'call' and he can add others to it as well, working as a router

The post battle clarity sent shivers down his spine. Borintas let out a deep and surprisingly honest sigh as he lowered his crossbows, ending the blood rite on them. He looked over the now lifeless bodies of the walking trees, the shaking, out-of-breath form of the sorcerer, the battered scammer, the paladins, the priestess', Adj and the no longer moving body of the collector. The undead found their rest. Finally. He stared at the gory, impaled bodies of the townsfolk, smiling. Don't think about them. Let the past be the past...

"Marvelous work everyone!" his smile widened as he looked over the party "If you excuse me for a moment..." he trotted at the edge of the camp's illusion. Deep breath. Deep breath. Gone. They are gone. The remains of his oh so long ago happened lunch lifted up. After the quick, unsatisfactory yet comforting act of throwing up in a bush, he headed back to the rest of the group, cleaning the tiny remains of his vomit from his snout.

"ew..." the pristess claimed.  
Of course. No don't answer her. Enough for today. And we ain't done yet.

{You good?} the familiar alien mind surrounded his consciousness in a calming matter. {You seem bothered}

{Necromancy. You know my relationship with it...}

{Have you seen them again?} the illithid took out his notebook, seemingly taking notes of the dead plant-monstrocities.

{Thats not your almanach. Why are you faking it?}

{Do you want the others to know that you have the sanity of a mending group of Myconids? Our whole life is an act}

The kobold looked at the rest of the group, gathering themselves after the fight. {Point taken, doc...}

{What was in your vision?}

Borintas stepped to the broken collector, took a deep breath and reached out to touch the bloody metal.  
Arcane mumbling. Grinding. The last whispers of dozens. Screams. Destruction.

He had to sit down as the cacophony hit him. The world, the paladins healing, the burning corpses, the illithid gentle presence in his mind... All faded as he withnessed the dark past of the mashine of death.

I don't care. No. Objective observing. No. The death and agony leaves me cold. No. I don't care. I am here to gather info. No...

The pain of a young woman as she got slammed to the ground, spilling her brain on the pavement overwhelmed him.

"DON'T touch the corpses!!" he lashed out on Bran, the most warm-hearted person he ever met, who just tried to free the bodies from their sacreligious, impaling graves.

"What, you want to leave them like this?"

"No.... I... Need to meditate over the monstrocity.... Give me a few minutes, I beg you"

He continued his lonesome, dread journey in the terror. He lost focus. The only thing he caught was the name: cadaver collector.


End file.
